Administrative Assistant's Update - sample

APRIL 2018 4 to your executive team that are you ca- pable of taking the next step, but not over-stepping." To those who meet Vilaca, an accomplished public speaker and founder of a local food tourism busi- ness, her commitment to a "service excellence" mindset might appear to come easily given her gregarious per- sonality. But she concedes she began her admin career as an introvert – "the person who liked to sit at the back of the room with her co-worker." She says, "I get that mentality and how hard it is to break out of that mentality." But she says embracing a "service excellence" philosophy is es- sential to demonstrate a professional commitment to the organization. "When people say 'you are so lucky' I say no, I worked hard for this and I take my career path seriously," she says. In her nine years at the university, Vilaca has worked for four senior executives, including Rosborough for the past five years. He sees his professional relation - ship with his assistant as a partnership that supports the university. "We both contribute to its success." On some occasions, he says she can "direct traffic" so that unannounced visitors to his office receive the appro- priate assistance they need. At other times, such as public events, he says she is an invaluable ally in connecting him to members of the community. "She is a very good judge of that," he says. A strong partnership between boss and EA, like his with Vilaca, is built on trust and transparency, says Ros - borough. "There is no point in getting someone to help you if they are not informed about what you are trying to accomplish or why you are making a decision." For Vilaca, a commitment to "ser- vice excellence" has paid dividends throughout her career. Perhaps the most important, she says, "is to stand up, take notice and be proud of your role." Weekly meetings: Exchanging agendas By Staff Every Monday or Tuesday, Laurier University execu- tive assistant Janice Vilaca schedules a meeting with her boss, Brian Rosborough, senior executive officer at the university's Brantford, Ont., campus. "It's a one-hour meeting and though sometimes it [the timing] shifts, it never goes without happening," she says. For her, the session provides an organized way to follow up on any actions from meetings between Rosborough and his university colleagues. But the weekly get-together also keeps Rosborough in - formed of Vilaca's agenda, such as sign-offs needed from him on expenses or other office-related issues. Despite having regular informal discussions with his assistant, Rosborough says the scheduled weekly meeting allows for a resolution of a variety of outstanding issues. In his executive role, he says, "the last thing you want to be asked is 'what do you want to do about a problem?' We want to be asked 'which of these options do you think we want to adopt?'" In Vilaca's case, he says, she "brings both prob - lems and solutions attached." A new voice mail greeting each day By Staff Every morning, Laurier University executive assistant Janice Vilaca programs her voice mail to reflect her day – and communicate relevant information to the caller. For example, if she is away for university convoca - tion, she will advise when she expects to return. "My rule of thumb is that whatever kind of service I want or expect is the same kind of service I will offer," she says. She has little time for a generalized voice mail. "If they say 'hi, I will call you back,' I don't know if they are on vacation, sick or if I will hear from them in three weeks." Vilaca says that recording a fresh voice mail mes - sage is not time-consuming. "It takes me 20 seconds a day and I can do it from home if I am sick." At the office, she makes a point of recording her message with her door open, a subtle way of setting an example for other staff. "At this level, the work we do changes on a dime," she says. "For me a very simple service excellence standard for myself, my team and my boss and my institution is changing my voice mail daily." EA challenge: Seeing the bigger picture Continued from page 1

• Cover